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Outbreak of Shadows
Arrival of Justice On the open seas of a freezing temperature in the , a lone battle ship of the Marines makes its way through the seas to their destination that stands before them in plane view. That destination is the winter island, Isvan Kingdom. An island that is constantly ravaged by freezing, sub-zero wind storms, blowing snow up off the ground and pushing it to follow the directions of the wind in various directions nearly covering the island in a giant wind of snow, making it difficult to navigate through the island. The strength of these winds blows through the land with the strength of a hurricane pushing against anyone daring enough to travel through it, giving them the feeling that the mere strength of the wind is enough to be carried away by it. The freezing wasteland of this temperature ranks one hundred degrees below zero, which will freeze anything or anyone who wonders into this tundra frozen solid within 15 minutes, if left without any precautions. It is an island of an eternal blizzard, a true hellish island. Despite all of the dangers the climate introduces, it is still the home of one of the of the World Government, The Isvan Kingdom lead by its Royal Family, the Elworth Family. The ship had some difficulty navigating through Isvan's waters. While the island itself was encased in a blizzard, its waters were immensely cold, having some shards of ice amongst them. The Marine Commander known as Herculean Leo had stationed a chair in the frontal parts of the Marine vessel, sitting on it as he used binoculars to observe the island. The blizzard didn't help, and the fact that it was night time neither. "So many mountains..." He puffed out a cold breath. Leo, naturally, wore pretty warm clothes. A brown, fully sleeved coat with white fur at its collar and wrists, along with baggy dark pants and large brown boots. In his face, Leo had dark goggles. Attached to his hip, was a wooden sword. However, one would not notice the many additional clothes he had inside these. The ship was close to docking. A large stone chamber stood on the land, being blocked by a large iron door. "Sir, this is the Portuary Settlement of Irand. It's a small town located in the underground, this back entrance can only be acessed by us and the Government." A soldier pronnounced himself, looking at Leo fiercely. Another Commander talked to a man at the entrance, asking for permission to enter. Seconds later, the iron door suspended itself from the waters, achieved through a mechanism. "We shall enter now." The soldier from before said. The insides of the chamber connected to the underground city of Irand, being akin to a market place, as many shops could be seen. Lamps hung in high points of the rocky walls, illuminating everything. "Sure, sure." Leo chuckled and nodded. The soldiers began to walk through the small bridge which connected to the docks, quickly leaving Leo alone- though, in fact, he wasn't. "Is Sir gonna' be stay here...?" He scratched the back of his head and quickly focused his mind. "C'mon...work!" There, he felt it. The person he wanted to locate was indeed resting at the ship's quarters, Leo would not bother him then. Openning his vest, golden locks of hair which reached his jaw could be seen, Leo's hair was spiky and wavy at the same time. He walked alongside the Soldiers and sighed, using Haki was more difficult than he thought. As the number of Marines had decreased over time, many of the newbies had to be taught how to use Haki, lest they don't survive in the hell that is the New World. Leo had learned both Busoshoku and Kenbunshoku, though he certainly specialized in the former, he also liked the latter. The Commander wouldn't say anything, he didn't want to. After all, he felt like the Vice-Admiral earned that rest, he always did. Leo heard that after visiting this island, the Vice-Admiral would have to attend a meeting with other Marines, something about who could fill the spot for Admiral. He certainly believed this man fit the bill, the others treated him as a weapon, but Leo treated him like the man he was. However, Leo felt like he had been working too much as of lately, not that he couldn't handle it, but, he worried about his superior. Despite this, Leo didn't know how Kanto truly felt. Bambina, one of his favorite teachers, always joked. "Don't let those bunny ears fool you, BAHAHAHA!" He chuckled at the memory, remembering how much Bambina and Valentine laughed at it. He always thought that Bambina, Sir Valentine, Funori and many of their Commodores, worked more than they should. Yet, they were all so energetic and much more stronger than he was. And Leo hadn't been fooled, indeed. "Oi, Kinshi-san!" A soldier, the same from before, snapped Leo out of thoughts, as he hadn't even realized how far he had walked. "You're oozing off again, hahaha! I bet'cha thinking about Kanto-san, don't worry about him." He smiled and gestured towards a large opened, iron door. "We've reached the other entrance of Irand, from here on, we'll go by the Carriage arranged by the King. Said he'd be easying our trip to there or something." Leo's eyes widened, but he nodded. He remembered the soldier's name as Ivan. "Oh! Right, right, sorry man, I'as just thinkin' 'bout that yeah." He grinned and lied, he hadn't only thought about that, but also about his own capacity. Was he enough for this mission? Sure, they just had to oversee the Royal Family, but given how slowly he has improved, Leo couldn't hold back his doubts. He was already twenty-six, and felt like people younger than him were stronger. Ivan looked with worry towards Leo, he knew much about his Commander, and always worried why he was so unconfident, despite his bright smile. Leo always hid his emotions with that smile. Even so, he thought Leo was incredible. They had battled two pirate crews in the past week, and both him and Kanto were vital to achieve victory. The Marines, totalling by ten, all entered the big carriage. The interior was comfortable enough, having a dark color and several wine-colored couches. A ready message was sent to the Coachman, who wore extremely fat clothes and had his eyes closed. "Okay, young fellas, we'll be there in an hour or so." He pulled a cord lightly, making the beasts which acted as the carriage's horses begin their sprint. These beasts had an incredible amount of fur, such that their faces couldn't even be seen. Leo rested his head against the padded seat and breathed heavily, closing his eyes. He had to remember to call Kanto when they reach the castle. He just hoped this mission didn't give him much of a headache. ---- Leo woke up to murmurs, as people talked outside of the carriage, that and the sound of wind. He groggily opened his eyes and looked around, not moving his head. Most of the Soldiers had their jaws wide open, saliva dripping from it as they slept peacefully. Only two weren't there. Leo slapped his face and slowly got up from the couch. Stepping outside, he smiled and saw the missing Soldiers talking with the Coachman as they all observed a large wall of white wind. "Oi, what d'y miss?" Leo blinked a few times, eyeing the wall. "Oh, Sir Kinshi." Ivan said with a smile, looking at Leo. "The blizzard is specially strong in this area...so we had to stop before the carriage got torn apart by it." The Coachman nodded. "Indeed, 'ere there's not much m'ntains, so the win's free to pass." He spat in the snow. "Sorry lads, we've got to wai' 'ere for som' time." He walked back to his seat outside the carriage. "How odd, we wer' just a few miles away from the castle." "Oooi, I can take care of it." Leo smiled widely while approaching the barrier and holding his wood sword. "I'm sure Eva can tank this!" He drew his sword, which was indeed a Shinai, and pointed it at the wind, taking a kendo stance while gripping the handle with both hands. With his left foot standing in the front, Leo advanced with a yell. "HURYAAAAAH!" He thrusted forward, making snow rise and part of the barrier cave in. The Coachman gasped and the Soldiers clapped their hands, amazed at it. "See?" Leo turned back at them. "Just fine-" The barrier suddenly got back to its normal form with full force, interrupting Leo. The soldiers' eyes widened and the Coachman gasped, shaking his head sadly. Leo turned to look at it, his eyes wide and his teeth grit. His hold on Eva tightened as he cursed himself internally. He felt the weight of the world upon his shoulders, and it made his knees slowly bend, his hands slowly unwrap the handle, as his sensations of earlier hit him with full power. Leo knew he wasn't fit for the job, he never was. He had remembered the many voices of disapproval back at home, back at the headquarters...and also, at the back of his mind. It made him deaf, he couldn't hear the blizzard anymore, nor the sad sighs of the Coachman. Leo would never improve, he would always stay still like the trash he is. But, then, the glinting of a small light resonated within his head, making him snap out of it instantly. "YOU CAN DO IT!!!" Ivan yelled at him with a determined face. "YOU CAN DO IT!" Only then, Leo noticed that all of the Soldiers had woken up and joined their comrade. "YOU CAN DO IT!!!" They all yelled together, bumping their arms up and down constantly. "Look, Leo, you can't get so down about yourself. Every failure isn't a travesty, but a step towards a greater success. Ernest and I believe in ya' alright, so stop looking down and start climbing up!" Valentine's words resonated within Leo's head, making him adopt the first genuine smile after weeks. "I have to stop disappointing the others...and more importanyly, disappoint myself!!!" His knees had bent in weakness, but now they bent for his stance. His hands loosened in failure, but now they tightened in conviction. An immense aura surrounded Leo as he readied Eva, his eyes filled with determination. With absurd speed, he struck high at the barrier, then at its left and right side, leaving after-images with each attack. "MEN- DOU- KOTE!" In fact, Leo had been so fast, he hit the three spots at the same time, smiling and yelling at the end of all of it: "SHISHIKU!!!" The barrier exploded in a wide range, blowing much snow away as the Marines and the Coachman held themselves in place, nearly blown by the shockwave. All of the Soldiers yelled in excitement, jumping high, while the Coachman dropped his jaw, his eyes openning for the first time. "H-H-H-H-H-HE DID IT!!!" Leo breathed heavily, sweating a bit, despite the cold, as he eyed the effect of his attack on the barrier. He smiled, nearly letting out a few tears. This was a step, a slow, but still a step towards the path of confidence. "O'right! Let's freakin' go guys!!!" He rose Eva in the air, smiling widely as everyone cheered along with him. The path to the castle was all clear now. And the one to Leo's confidence too. ---- The Marines managed to make their way to through the heavy snow and finally made it to where they can see the castle in the distance. The castle stood heavily on a large mountain in its full glory which has been named Kings Rock. The castle was made in brilliant white stone that appeared to be even whiter then the snow itself, which sparkled in the snowy wind leaving the marines speechless. As they made their way to the base of the mountain, they come across a path of ice, which has been carved into a smooth road that leads straight up to the castle and made their way up that path of ice. Ivan and some of the sleepy soldiers waved goodbye to the Coachman, having paid him. They were all in front of the castle's gate now, the snow continuing to fall. Leo looked around, seeing how they managed to climb the road to the castle. It was atop a small mountain after all. He approached a little door close to the big one and hit it with his fist several times. "Oooi, the Marines have arrived yo', a bit late but yeah." Leo rose his voice a bit. Part of the door opened, revealing an old man who quickly scanned their appearance. "Good, good." He spoke in a rispy tone. "You may enter, Marines, our Highness is waiting for you just ahead of the main hall." He closed the small opening and clicked a switch, which was connected to the main door. "A'right, thanks." Leo mused and looked at the soldiers. "Oi, y'all, get 'eady to enter an' greet the Royals." They all nodded and positioned themselves, cleaning some snow off and quickly stepping inside as the door had been all open. The sound of steps echoed through the large hall as Leo scanned it, awed at the place. He had been to some nice ones before, due to his missions, but their beauty never ceased to amaze him. Noticing they arrived to a large room which was illuminated by a chandelier, Leo saw stairs leading up, and people at their end. Those were the Royal Family. Without looking at them too much, Leo and his soldiers bowed, as the latter pronnounced himself. "It's a pleasure to meet you, your Highness!" They stood before a room with Royal Guards standing in a saluted position between them and the base of the stair case, standing across from each other forming a path. At the top of the stair case was the throne in which the king and queen were sitting in as its ruler, and a smaller throne to the side where a little girl was sitting in, resting her head on her hand that was placed on the arms of the throne, glancing at the marines in a gaze. "Ah, so you're the marines that I've been informed about. I bid you greetings to our humble kingdom. I am the King of this country." He introduced himself. "Now, how may I be of assistance? Your superiors inform me that you wish to negotiate." Leo stepped forward and rose his head to look at the King. "Thanks for the welcome! I am Herculean Leo, a Commander of the Marines." He smiled and put both his hands on his hips. "Uh, um... the negotiations are to happen with the Leader of this squad, the Vice-Admiral Kairo!" Leo rose a hand and scratched the back of his head. "I'd just like some rooms for my men righ' now, since we'll be on patrol y'know." He fisted his chest. "We ought to survey the whole castle, your highness! I assure you that you're on good hands!" "Tch" The young girl sitting on the small throne gritted her teeth and stood up. "Father." She grabbed the king's attention. "I grow bored of this. I'm going to my room." She announced. She began walking down the stairs with her eyes closed and her head faced up a little. "Uh, yes, of course, sleep well, sweet heart." He called to her as she walked away. "Sorry about that. Yes, you may take shelter here for as long as you like, Commander Leo. You have free access to anywhere in the castle. I'll let one of my guards take you to one of our guest rooms." "Thank you, your highness." Leo bowed his head. One of the royal guards walked up to the marines and directed them to a direction and lead the way as they followed. He esscorted them down a long hall way. As they walked the royal guard looked back at Commander Leo. "Excuse me, as guard assined to this duty, I must ask you for a favor while you're surveying this castle tonight." "Sure, what's up?" He asked curiously. "Well, a long time ago, his majesty's daughter, Princess Elworth Miyu, was taken from home by pirates, who kept her as their slave for seven years until just a year ago she was rescued by a marine and was escorted back here, her home kingdom. Now ever since she was rescued she's been having trouble sleeping. So it's usually up to the royal guards to check on her from time to time to see how she is and make sure she sleeps. Tonight this routine falls under me, but I have more pressing matters outside the castle. Would it be alright for you to check on her highness while conveying your survey?" "You can count on me." Leo answered and sighed. "She seems disturbed, whatever happened." ---- Leo sang with a few whistles, walking around the large hall. His coat and additional shirts were gone, as well as his goggles, seeing how the Castle was warm enough. It was his patrol time, and he was happy to do so, walking and looking through the many rooms. He had to keep his confidence. The other soldiers were sleeping, and would stay like that until the next five hours. It was already two in the morning, but Leo had been tasked with visiting the Princess and checking if she was okay. She had some sleeping problems, apparently. Leo only knew that, and her name, Elworth Miyu. He stopped whistling as soon as he reached her door, which was the biggest in the hall. "Just a tid bit spoiled." He smirked and lightly tapped his fist against the door. But, such a simple act was enough to get the door open, making Leo's widen. "Oi, Princess, are you ok?" The door had fully, showing all of the insides of the room clearly. "...We will take it no matter what." Said an unfamiliar voice just before he realized what was going on. Leo then saw a large pink room with various girly kid stuff scattered everywhere, with the princess which was the girl he saw before. She walked to her room while he was talking to the king stood in the middle of the room, standing before a mysterious figure wearing a black cloak with a hood and mask over his head to hide his face. All he could see were his eyes. In his right hand was what appeared to be a dagger with a flat tip. Behind the cloaked man was the window of her room which was wide open and swaying back and forth by the wind as snow blew through it into the room. They both looked back at the door, surprised by his sudden intrusion. "Ugr" Miyu gritted her teeth again and looked back at the cloaked figure. "I demand you leave my presence at once intruder!" She demanded while waving her hand out. Misunderstandings "What the-" Leo took a grip of Eva with both his hands and pointed it at the mysterious figure, flaring his Kenbunshoku to stay alert. "Who are you?!" He dashed to stand between Miyu and the figure, gritting his teeth. "Princess, are you ok?! What did they do?" Leo actually questioned both of them, not taking his eyes off the cloaked person. Leo eyed the supposed man warily. "I heard the stories on the princess... I won't let it happen again!" He almost yelled, intensely putting his right food forward. The mysterious figure stood there for a moment. Not making any sudden moments or saying anything. After a moment, the cloaked man then clutched his dagger looking blade and lunged forward towards Leo, his body and face covered by the cloak, making it difficult to see what he will do next. Leo's eyes widened, he could see the figure coming, though, barely. Drawing Eva, he would use it to hit against the man's hand, which held the dagger. "MEN!" Should he be successful, Leo would execute his move on three different spots on the figure. "DOU!" He aimed for the jaw. "KOTE!" And for the right leg, seeking to disturb the man's balance. The attacks disrupted the balance of the cloak that was blocking Leo from seeing him, the dagger was smacked away and the cloak that was lunged towards Leo fell flat onto the floor behind him. After a quick inspection however, it appeared to be an ordinary cloth, with no signs of a person underneath it. There was also another realization that the dagger looking sword that he knocked away had also disappeared. It was at that moment that Leo heard footsteps running in the hallway outside Miyu's room. It was too sudden for Leo, catching him off guard. "Ehhhh?!" He looked at the piece of clothing, then at Miyu. "You okay?! Stay here!" He found his Den Den Mushi and quickly called for his squad. "MEN! PRINCESS ROOM!" Leo yelled, all the while, he burst out of the room, running in search of the figure. He activated his Kenbunshoku, and searched through all the walls and halls, quickly finding the man. However, the problem was that the figure was constantly moving. Leo saw no other option, he would have to hold this guy in the castle and call for more reinforcements. No, Reinforcement. "SIR KANTO, WE NEED YOU!" He yelled at the Den Den Mushi, having a need to be quick. As he did so, Leo shattered a nearby window and jumped through it, using Geppo to fly. "It's time for the real Lion's Roar..." Leo suddenly got bulkier and had more fur, gaining a thin tail, as he moved through the air and surveylled the castle's structure. Then, all of a sudden, using both Soru and Geppo, Leo exploded forward, going along with the wind. He didn't face forward, however, and started to spin, also perfoming Rankyaku along the way. In seconds, the combination was powerful enough to carry the wind along with him, recreating the previous barrage of blizzard, but in a much more intense manner. Such that it had a deep white color, blocking all vision to the outside. Leo instantly got back in the castle, breaking another window, and entering a specific room in which he had sensed the figure. He had been back to his normal form and looked around for the cloaked man, having felt his aura. "Show yourself!!! You have no means of escape now!" Leo drew Eva once again. ---- "SIR KANTO, WE NEED YOU!" That was the voice heard by Vice Admiral Kanto as he was resting. His eyes jolted open in a robotic fashion as he was processing the meaning behind those words. "Leo is in a state of emergency." He stood up from his seat and shook off his sluggish posture. He donned the coat signifying his status as a Vice Admiral, and found the nearest exit from his room on the ship. "Men, remain on board and stay cautious. Keep a Den Den Mushi in proximity at all times in case of an emergency." The energy within Ernest's cybernetic body flared outwards in the form of immense heat, as the soles on his "shoes" opened to reveal a hole, at which he ejected concentrated bursts of flames to act as jets. When he reached the air, Ernest kicked backwards and soared forward at immense speed, intending to reach the palace as soon as possible. "Hold on, Leo, I'll be there shortly. But...what could cause you to become so desperate..?" His expression turned sour and he continued to move without any pause. ---- As Leo searched around to find the figure, the mysterious man showed no signs of stopping from his attempt to flee from the scene. He dashed his way to area where Leo was and without stopping reached his left arm over his right shoulder and grabbed the handle of his sheathed blade and lunged towards him with the momentum of his speed guiding the man, pulled out his blade in an attempt to slash Leo as he dashed by. Leo gritted his teeth, feeling the faint slash of the blade, as he had managed to dodge most of the attack with his reflexes. "Fast!!!" The blade had drawn blood, though, and at his left shoulder, with the clothes also having been cut. As the man advanced through him, Leo wasted no time. He had come from the left, so Leo shifted all of his body with Kamie to make it spin from left to right, accompanying the man's trajectory. "Kokka!" With his left hand, which had Eva, he lunged forward to hit-thrust the haki-hardened shinai against the figure's spine. As Leo spun around to try to thrust his weapon into the man's spine that landed beside him, he mysteriously vanished before the Marine had a chance to hit him. He was then revealed to be standing behind Leo once again. He held his blade out and turned it a bit. He lunged his blade with full force at him, about to his Leo from behind with the flat end of the blade. "Get lost." The man spoke just before hitting him. His whole body shuddered when his shinai didn't make contact with any meat. Leo could only feel the man's presence behind him, doing so instantly. Though... he couldn't react in time, gritting his teeth. "S-H-I-T!!!" Leo was about to use Kamie to flatten his body once again, and perform Soru to get away, but he was too slow. At the same time the man's words reached Leo's ears, the blunt side of the blade hit his hips, sending him crashing against furniture and breaking it. "GAAAAAAAAH!" Leo spat some blood, feeling shaken up by the strike, as blood descended from his mouth. "Even though he didn't hit my head..." He kicked the furniture away, using Geppo while at it, and jumped towards the figure again, moving in zig-zags. "Then, let me show you, stranger!" He roared, his muscles expanded once again and fur came out in several places. "THE NEKO NEKO NO MI, MODEL: LION!" He had forgotten at what point in his adolescence, he had eaten the fruit, but, it mattered not. With its power, Leo had instantly appeared before the masked figure, producing a shockwave as he was ready to slam Eva against his torso. "MEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" "Uhh" The man was speechless after witnessing his transformation. As Leo instantly appeared in front of him, the man kept his sights set on him, not losing him for even a moment despite his speed. As he swung Eva towards his torso, the man rose his leg up and clashed with Eva instead. The impact led to a minor shockwave between might and in the end the masked man was sent hurdling towards a wall. At that moment, the man held out his blade and swung it once. Doing that, the walls behind him were sliced apart into large stone debris and still kept going towards another brick wall where he cut that apart to. Finally, he landed on his feet, being dragged against the floor before coming to a complete stop. He looked back the large lion man 2 rooms away with large stone of debris falling in between them. The man quickly rose up his right arm and made a type of hand sign. It was then that all the falling debris from both walls he passed suddenly vanished. It then reappeared around Leo, leaving him completely surrounded as they were rocketed towards him at the speed of a cannon ball that just shot out of a cannon, all aiming directly at the large humanoid lion. "Wait wait wait! It's a chain attack, don't get away!" Leo almost panicked as the man made way through the walls using his blade and noticed his use of the rubble, his eyes widening for a moment. "That won't work on someone like me! GEPPO!" Leo surged through the air, faced with part of the barrage. "Shigan!" His right index finger darted forward, piercing through the above debris, while the ones below simply collided against each other. "Am I gonna' fail again?" A voice said in Leo's head. He had to come up with a way to use that man's speed against him. "How? What could I do?" The question continuously lingered in the Marine's mind, sometimes even faltering his focus. "This man... what does he want? I can't feel his intentions at all, maaan." Leo dashed through the broken walls and kept an eye on the stranger. "Soru!" Taking a quickstep forward, Leo attacked with his shinai once again, "DOU!" aiming at the man's hands. "However, unlike him, the Princess was easy to read... she wasn't shaken by his presence at all..." "I won't ever endanger an innocent person. But, what's the princess got to do with this guy? Can she help me in any way? WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?!" Leo recalled the brief times he managed to land a hit on the figure. His teeth gritted, time was passing slow in his mind. "Fast people generally are not resistant... but this guy already took some blows. Instead of piercing through his shield, I oughta' find its weak spot!" Should his second strike land on the man's wrists, Leo instantly would go to hit his legs. "KOTE!" As Leo came in for his attack, the man tossed his blade into the air which spun around as it went upwards. He then held his hands up which he covered with Armament Haki. He blocked the Eva with his back hand, deflecting it to the side, while he uses his other hand to punch him in the stomach and send him flying back. "TEKKAI!-GHHH." Leo yelled, coughing a bit of blood as he stood fierce, and yet, was sent flying through the wall by the attack. His teeth gritted and his eyes nearly rolled back into their sockets, as he clutched his stomach. "Yes." The voice from before resurfaced. Yet, Leo shook his head and rose his body slightly to take a better look at the figure. "I can't give up." His hand tightened into a fist, drawing blood due to his claws sinking into it. Leo hit it against the ground, cracking it, he couldn't get up, the pain was too much on his lower half. "Over here! i hear something!" "Alright men protect the princess!" Voices spoke as they echoed through the halls of the castle followed by large amounts of foot stompings. Soilders from all over the castle along with marines that were brought to them by Leo were making their way to the conflict that was going on. Listening to the sounds of the raging men charging towards them the man looked back at Leo. "It would seem playing around with you has come to an end." He then held out his hand back and grabbed the blade that he had tossed that fell straight down into his hand. He then geared up for his next attack. "One Sword Style." He gripped the handle tight and lunged his blade forward followed with a bit of a spin. The amount of force that the swing created launched a gust of wind shooting straight towards Leo which spun around like a twister. "Burakkudoragon'u~ingusurasshu (Black Dragon Wing Slash)" The slash circled past Leo as it slashed him in a circular motion and drilled through the walls behind him that leads to the center of the castle, the main throne room. Leo gritted his teeth as the slash cut around him pushed him through the hole it drilled through sending him crashing to the floor below. His blood splattering everywhere as he fell. With Leo out of the way, the man sheathed his sword and ran down the hallway in the direction the soldiers were coming from. "Look! I see someone. Its the intruder ATTACK!" "YEAHHHHHHHH!" They all cried out as they charged towards him with their weapons held out. The ones with guns all opened fire right then. The man continued running while moving side to side, evading the bullets that were fired, he even pulled out his blade and blocked the ones he couldn't avoid. Before he could be surrounded by soilders, the man swung his blade at the nearest soilder cutting him down and jumped out of the whole in the wall he made from knocking Leo out. He made a flip before landed on his feet on the ground, beside the knocked out Leo and dashed towards the nearest exit. In the next moment, from the exit that the criminal attempted to escape from, the sound of flames roared. The door was battered and burned down, and a figure akin to a shooting star shot through with the intent of using his flame-wrapped leg to burn through the intruder's body. The figure that had appeared was none other than Vice Admiral Ernest, who looked towards the unconscious Leo with an expression of grief, before his attention was fully tuned towards the criminal before him. He did not utter a single word, but instead, increased the intensity of his flames as his leg propelled towards him, with the intent of burning him to a crisp. The man did not flinch in the slightest from the sudden burst of entrance from the Vice Admiral and instead grabbed the handle of his sheathed blade and glared intensly at the man as he fastly approaches. He pulled his sword out as he inveloped it in haki and flung his sword forward, unleashing a devistating flying slash following straight after to collide again his leg in a clash of power. Ernest was unaware of his enemy was a fool or not. As he sent out a flying slash attack, the Vice Admiral changed his course of action. As opposed to keeping the flames wrapped around his leg, he shot them towards the flying slash of compressed wind, before using the air as a foot-hold to move himself to his right side. In the following instance, the flames and slash collided. The wind empowered the flames, causing a flame explosion at the center of the room that he hoped would consume the intruder whole. Although flames began to nick him, his body had been resistant to them, leading them to possess no effect. However, before the explosion moved too far, Ernest had reached Leo's unconscious body. He picked him up and placed him in a safer zone in the room unaffected by flames, before focusing his attention solely towards the intruder. "Who are you?" Ernest asked the man, clearly intending on destroying him the moment he uttered his name. Due to the Vice Admiral's dynamic entrance leading to the destruction of the castle doors, the freezing snow and violent winds from monstrous blizzard blasted through the door frame following after Ernest and into the castle. It didn't take long for the insides of the castle walls and floors to be slowly covered in ice as it seems to growing with the wind starting from the door frame. "Oh no! The doors are broken!" A Solider from a large group who came racing down after intruder called out. "Forget the intruder! Seal that hole or every person in this castle will freeze to death in no time!" A leading officer of the royal guards commanded. "Yes Sir!" They all shouted together. Up in the hole of the stone walls where the intruder had slashed Leo through. Miyu walked up to the crumbling, gaping hole and glanced her eyes down at the battle at hand with a stern glare in her eyes. "Hphm". With the furious winds and snow blowing through the door, it rushed through the flames quickly extinguishing them away. The intruder walked through the flames which were on the verge of being extinguished. His cloak was burning with scorch marks and small flames burning in separate areas. He untied the knot keep his cloak together and tossed it away in the wind. He looked at Ernest with a clam facial expression and determination in his eyes. "I am the Stealth Master.Sontara Hino. Its an honor to face a Vice Admiral such as yourself. Ernest" He held his small sword up and took a fighting stance. His eyes narrowed with a sweat drop leaking down his face. "Something's wrong with this guy". "You're not worthy of that title at all, since you got caught so early." Ernest's expression turned harsh, and his body had begun to emit a kind of steam. "Now I will avenge my subordinate. I'd prefer if you stayed still." Ernest began to speak, as suddenly his body disappeared from the area, leaving only the smell of flames and a burst of fumes. Within an instant, Ernest had leaped before the perpetrator, with his fists already in position. In moments, electricity enveloped them completely, before he released them in a series of powerful jabs that intended to paralyze the enemy by channeling electricity through their torso. "Really?" Hino questioned to Ernest's claim about his given title. Glaring directly at Ernest, keeping up with his movements with his haki once Ernest was reaching over for the strike Hino moved his body forward in the motion of almost leaping towards him he vanished just before his feet left the ground in an attempt to reappear behind Ernest in order to attack from behind however in a shocking surprise to Hino he unexpectedly reappeared directly in front of Ernest leaving him standing before his upcoming attack. Hinos eyes widen. "What!?" With the reality of what happened instantly sinking in he quickly slashed at his opponent but not before taking the electrical jabs. "Ahhh!" He screamed as electricity ran through his body. As he concentrated through the shock he quickly vanished once again but this time reappear on the opposite side of the room as Ernest leaving behind the field of electricity he was caught in remain. "Huff huff huff." Hino stopped to get his breath from the electricity. "I get it now. That strange body you have, your muscles, weight, its all abnormal for a human being like yourself, even your aura seems different. Now i understand." He looked at Ernest with a calm expression. "Your a cyborg. Most likely a project run by the government, and your body is covered in Sea-Prism Stone so that must mean your equipped to facing Devil Fruit users the most." He informed every prime knowledge he has on Ernest while observing his every detail through his haki. "You seem to have adjusted very well, compared the outdated ." His eyes squinted as he let out a faint grin. "You know a fair bit. Yes, I am a cyborg. But is that going to help you in any way?" Ernest scoffed, irritated that his attack didn't fully penetrate through the perpetrator of this incident. Ernest launched an attack of his own once more, uncaring of the Pirate's accusations. He channeled electrical energy through his right arm, increasing its speed and momentum within an instant, and punched the ground with tremendous force. A ripple went through the room, forcing the flooring and walls to come undone, pushing countless fragments of debris into the air for a few moments. Even if his body was lined in Seastone, it wasn't enough to negate his enemy's skills. He surmised from their brief encounter that he was using a Devil Fruit that enabled him to instantaneously move from one spot to another. If his ability still caused him to move across the space, then for these brief moments, he had become completely vulnerable, for everywhere he ran, debris would attack him. The Vice Admiral covered his body in a pitch-black , and ignited his feet with flames. He dashed forward, covering the distance between them in barely a second. Using this opportunity, Ernest coated his left arm in flaring electricity, and sent a punch towards Hino's stomach. Due to the electrical energy within the punch, the speed behind it tremendously increased, almost entirely eliminating the delay a normal attack of this type possessed. The force of the punch caused drafts in the air that ended up following his attack, with the blitzing electricity making the sound of a thousand chirping birds. If the attack landed directly against his enemy, it would cause tremendous pain. But even further, the electric shock would no doubt cause temporarily paralysis, enough to capture him and send him into custody, no matter how powerful his Devil Fruit was. Seeing how his slash he thrusted onto ernest just before backing away didnt even leave a scratch gave Hino an idea of just how tough his body really is. Knowing this he'll have to do better if he wants to get the better hand against him. As Ernest demolished the ground and caused collapsing debris to fall all around them Hino watched carefully, his emotionless expression unchanging. "Think im going to run?" The immense ripple in the room shook the guards who were making attempts to seal the broken door, knocking them down while some tried to remain standing and keep their progress holding. "Ughh damn cant you guys take this fight somewhere else?" One of the guards mumbled below his breath. As Ernest shot his way towards Hino with his fiery jet feet's, Hino vanished once again in order to close the distance and meet with him partway reappearing just as he stopped as well he held his tanto out and coated it with his own Armament Haki and thrusted his sword at him with the flat tip facing at Ernest's body with wind emiting from his sword perparing for a Flying Slash Attack. As he did, in his other hand he held up two fingers forming a hand sign in front of his face. "Binku Binku" He mumbled and teleported an inch to the right seconds before his fist interacted, making himself out of reach from Ernest's punch. With his hand sign still remaining up he mumbled something once again. "Moton" With the this call out the electricity emitting from Ernest arm vanished entierly, not leaving a single trace of a spark and the flames released from his feet was instantly extinguished. Only to instantly reappear on Hino's side with the electricity compressed into a glowing orb on the tip of his sword and the flames being released from his elbow tremendously boosting his arm thus increasing the speed of his thrust straight into Ernest's stomach. Once he deals the blow he will teleport away as the debris Ernest had dropped will all be shooting at him at bullet speed from all sides after he reverted them all with his Moton. The flying slash was quickly dissipated by Ernest, using the momentum of his charge in order to grip the air that had been sent towards him, and throw it away, albeit in the process cause minor abrasions to himself. However, this was not what surprised Ernest. What truly threw him off were the brief disappearance of his flames and electricity, causing him to go through a moment of shock. His reflexes were caught off-guard, as the electricity and flames appeared on his opponent's sword, who had appeared instantly to another area. As the sword of flames and electricity was to attack Ernest's stomach, he took his free hand, coated with Busoshoku Haki, and narrowly managed to grip onto the attack. These were his flames and electricity, and Ernest could not be targeted by his own power, albeit the reinforcing Busoshoku Haki was enough to cause a cut on his arm. In the next moment, the opponent had teleported, and caused the entirety of the debris he had created to come toppling above him. But Ernest had felt his flames and electricity supply return — no — continue to be supplied to his body, which enabled Ernest to figure out the overall mechanics of his opponent's abilities. But his primary concern was to ensure survival. Maximizing the output of flames from his entire body, Ernest coated himself in an aura of flames hot enough to melt the majority of the debris coming through his way. Although the sheer density of debris penetrated through his flames and caused some damage, he was ultimately able to get out of the situation mostly unscathed. What remained was him, his opponent, and Leo lying in the corner of the room. Any further involvement and Leo's condition would get serious. He needed to find a way for this opponent to be captured, and fast. There was only one move that Ernest thought would be suitable for this. The sound of a machine activating could be heard from Ernest's body, as his insides seem to grow infinitely hotter for a single moment. "Haaah!" Ernest roared, as a large sphere of energy appeared within his mouth, before being expelled as a powerful, narrow, and swift beam of light that sought to ignite a hole within his opponent's torso, hopefully ending this conflict here and now. Hino's eyes widened. Unexpected by the firing laser of light. As it came at him, Hino quickly threw his Tanto over at the wall high up from the floor on the opposite room and got edged into the wall by the amount of force used to throw it. Just as the laser came mere inches from his face, Hino teleported over to his Tanto and step on it as if it was a stepping stool. The beam, now turned into a stray shot, blasted the walls of the castle resulting in a massive explosion destroying a much larger hole into the walls. Up from the hole where Princess Miyu was standing, watching the battle, soldiers were running in various directions behind her in order to settle the chaos done by the intruder Hino has caused. Until one ran up behind her. "Princess! We must take you to safety. I-its too dangerous here" The solider offered. He had trouble keeping his balance dude to all the shock waves that were being released due to the clash of these two monsters. Miyu, who was unaffected by the rumbling, didn't turn to face the solider and continued observing the battle. "No. I will remain here." "But your highness!" The solider called out worriedly. "What you should be worried about solider." At that moment she turned towards the solider behind her and glared at him. "is the protection of my father. If he or any of my family are harmed in any way due to your failure, I will have you executed for treason against the thrown. Do i make myself clear?" Her tone was strict and cruel, anyone would easily feel the anger hinted in her voice. "y-yes your highness." The solider stuttered. fearing the princess threat. He then ran towards the guards that were running aimlessly in panic and commanded them all to the kings chambers in order to secure the protection of the king and his family. With all the commotion behind her now settled and silenced she turned her focus back to the battle field "Tch." Ernest grunted, noting at the destruction caused by his rampant attacks. The princess wasn't moving an inch, however. "What's going on here...?" Ernest thought to himself, focusing on his unharmed adversary. He then took a glance towards Leo, whose breathing was getting shorter. His injuries weren't being healed and it was taking a toll on him. "One last attack." Ernest noted, as he pulled out one of the swords from his back. "Limiter Release: 8.3%" A grim voice spoke, as the electrical energy that was emitting from Ernest suddenly multiplied in volume and potency. Without giving his opponent even a blink's worth of time, Ernest's body merely twitched and he had already leaped towards Hino. A considerable amount of light energy, the very same used in his prior beam attack, was focused towards his arm, reminiscent of former Admiral , before he released the attack as a powerful, close-range blast of light that sought to cripple, or destroy his opponent in one attack. He knew that if he missed, Ernest would have failed his mission, for the destruction on the castle would be too much to keep Leo safe any longer. And above this mission, was his precious student. Hino watched Ernest as he pulled out his sword from his back and heard a voice speak. Suspecting he is up to something Hino made his sword he was standing on appeared in his hand and close his eyes, causing him to slowly make his descent to the floor but not before Ernest popped before Hino ready to blast him with what could be his most powerful attack. With all chance of survival riding on this one attack, it was then that all sounds that were happening around him began to grow silent even the high-pitched sound of the charging beam he was about to fire, Everything racing in his mind was now still and clear making his next choice of action perfectly clear. He moved his head up at Ernest to where he's looking at him in the eyes but with his eyes still shut and quickly opened his eyes with a glaring look as his black eyes were now glowing red. He gripped onto his Tanto and reeled it back across his chest. " ." He called. He thrusted his blade forward carrying heavy ounces of wind pressure along with it that was released by the swing. "O Suu Burakku Doragon ('''Soaring Black Dragon ブラック・ドラゴンを吸う)'!" He called out. His thrust launches a projectile of air spiraling towards Ernest at high speed blast. After the release of the attack Hino, who continued to descent for not having any foot hold to keep in up, glanced his still glow red eyes without moving his head down towards the hole of the castle created by Ernest's previous beam attack before being swallowed by smoke created by their two attacks resulted in a devastating burst. As Ernest collided with the attack, he found himself being blown aback by the seismic force. Before he slammed into the wall, Ernest pushed flames from his back in order to avoid collision, and slowly descended towards the ground. "...Tch." Ernest's sonar attempted to track the status of Hino, but he had already retreated under the cover of the smoke. There was no point in pursuing him while Leo was in this condition. Answering Questions Ernest lifted his unconscious subordinate and placed him on his back, before he began to slowly fly into the air with light jets streaming from his feet. As he saw the soldiers and princess, Ernest was puzzled at the girl's reaction to the whole situation. She was ''far too calm for a member of royalty. Although Ernest had really no interest in the matter, and wanted to, in fact, heal up Leo. He had to stay in the castle to fulfill his duty as a Marine Vice Admiral. He stood before the princess, and bowed. "I apologize for the destruction of the castle, Princess. It was not in my intention, and the Marines will recompense any damages." Ernest stood up, facing the citizens and Princess once again. "May I find a place to allow my subordinate to rest, before we go over just what happened with this intruder?" Ernest asked, with genuine concern towards his subordinate. Likewise, Ernest himself had to make sure his body was properly regulating its energy, before he began to overheat. "To let myself remove a limiter against an opponent like that. Shameful." Princess Miyu stood before Ernest, unflinching by his authority and superiority as marine over her, looking at him with her glaring eyes she gave her subordinates with her arms crossed and rested on her chest. She glared intensely at him, deciding if she will assist him or not. "Very well." She answered . She turned towards her subordinates. "Prepare a room for our guest! Send a medical team over and give him treatment. Gather the injured and seal up these holes before the castle freezes inside." She called out to them. "Yes Ma'am!" The soldiers all called out in salute before scattering to do what they were told. She turned back towards Ernest with slightly more angry expression then she was giving off before. "And when he's properly treated, we will discuss your failure." She said to him harshly. She turned and walked away, passing the guards who were carefully picking up Leo and putting him on a stretcher. As Leo went to be healed up, Ernest finally had the opportunity to properly take a seat, with the Princess before him, and begin the conversation regarding this so-called intruder. "Princess. Is it possible for me to have a recount of what occurred before I entered the castle? I believe there is a lack of proper information regarding the intruder's intentions, and Leo in his unconscious state cannot tell me anything at the moment." Miyu watched over the unconcious Leo and took a moment before she responded. "Very well." She turned around a took a seat. She rested her arms on the armrest of the chair and put her fingers of both her hands together. She looked back at when she first encountered the intruder. "Captain Leo was assigned to make a deal with my father concerning our payment to the World Government, but while he was staying here for the diplomacy, my father requested that id be looked after for my well being." "Do you have any idea who that intruder was, then?" Ernest asked the Princess, with his scanners reading her vital signs underneath his normal eyes, particularly focusing on her breathing and heartbeat. The fact that she had simply stayed to observe the battle between himself and the intruder without any hesitation was, no doubt, very strange. Though, he had heard from rumors that the Princess had been kidnapped by Pirates many years before. Category:Role-Plays